(This is a repost of the article I wrote on the IBGS blog site)

So where are Private Golf Clubs and Private Country Clubs going in today’s economy?  The first reaction to this question would be they are going the way of the Pet Rock.

Yaw, OK, that was a crappy analogy, but it gave me an opportunity to think about this stupid Pet Rock that is sitting on my desk that I paid like $25 for 20 years ago.

Use to be being a member of a private golf club was something that was fun and it was while it lasted.  However, many club members who took a hit financially during the 2008 market meltdown are having a hard time rationalize the costs for the membership.

Having a memberships at private country clubs and golf clubs is not crazy tinking.  For many it is a much cheaper alternative to paying daily fee golf.  But still, the price tag is high and many people are going to question….

“are private club membership fees a valid household expense”

Jim Dunlop, has an interesting article in Golf Inc Magazine on Private Club Survival Strategies .  What made the article on this very important issue a bit more intriguing is how they buried it at the end of the magazine’s report on private club.  Nonetheless, there were some interesting and potential solutions to keeping the mainstay of quality golf going.

Here are some interesting stats:

Source: National Golf Foundation: “The Future of Private Golf Clubs in America”

Solutions:

The issue here is costs and what drives the rising prices private golf clubs are pushing out to potential and current members.  It seems the mission for some private golf club environments I have been associated with over the years was to charge the members for the ‘Air” they were breathing while they were at the club.

In reality it seems the smarter thing to do is charge for what a member actually uses.  If they use the facility for golf..then just charge them for golf..if they use the entire facility for everything..then charge them for the full service.  Smart move, but falls short of what really can be done to cut costs.

I liked the suggestion of taking wasted portions of a golf course and make it into something usable like small Par 3 executive courses or some sort of short game courses for the juniors and spouses to use if they find the full scale course to challenging.

I like the marketing to the member’s interest instead of the marketing to the open market approach.  Still, more clubs need to look close to home for potential revenue instead of trying to offer members who live miles away from the club offers that even if they was FREE they would think twice about taking the time to use.

There were some good suggestions made in this article.  However, there is still room for improving the viability of being a private golf club member.

One of the statistics above was, to me, shocking to see how low of percent private clubs where being used…“For Business/Networking”.  Could it be the low usage of the private golf club for business purposes by members is because the members, and the club management, do not know how to use golf as a business tool?  Or, promote the use of the club as a business tool?  Hummmm, I wonder who could help them out there?

The discussion on these issues have just begun.  There will be more thoughts given to what can be done and there will hopefully be the meeting of minds in some kind of summit to hammer out what needs to be done in the Private Golf Club and Country Club arena to keep this very important part of the golf economy going.

I’ll be back to report on other finding I make and provide my thoughts on what else can be done to save Golf.  Until then, Let me know how I can help.